Red Kingdom's Pierrot
by Lore Alexian
Summary: Lavi couldn't wait to attend the Gathering, the most successful international unification between the four largest kingdoms, but something was off. Kingdom AU.
1. THE FOOL

**Hey all. So after a year of not uploading, I am back.**

 **So this is a little late in uploading. There was a lot I was unhappy with but I have finally tamed this beast. Some parts were incredibly hard to translate from my brain to the page.**

 **This is a 4 chapter fic plus one deleted scene as its own chapter. They will be uploaded every two weeks. That gives me time to write the others a little more and I can promise there are at least three more in this series, some talking about alluded events in this story. I have a few more ideas in this universe so hopefully those pan out.**

 **I would like to thank Azurimi for beta-ing and Shippo704 who has put up with over a year of me writing this story and sitting me down to actually finish it.**

 **This fic is completely written. I do not post without finishing a fic if there are multiple chapters.**

~~!~~

 **Chapter 1 – THE FOOL _(ish question)_**

It started as a whisper which turned to the talk of the town in under a day.

"The Gathering is this year!"

"Is it?"

"Oh my! What should I wear?"

The tittering town gossip spread like wildfire and Lavi, the apprentice of the head Bookman, had heard it by the end of the day, remembering what year it was.

"Bookman, is it true? Is this the year I attend the Gathering as your apprentice?" the teen asked, excited.

Bookman frowned. "Did I say that?"

"Yes, yes you did, gramps!" Lavi began to celebrate until an ink bottle was thrown at him.

"Settle down you idiot. If you embarrass the Bookman clan, I will personally kill you."

"Okay, okay," Lavi said, getting the message and rubbing the developing bump on his head.

"Now get out of my sight and start packing. We leave tomorrow." Bookman shooed his grandson and apprentice out of the library.

When the door slammed behind him, Lavi just stared at the opposing wall, his face slowly breaking into a smile. He began to laugh and cheer.

"Yes! Finally!" the teen began to dance until he noticed he was being watched by the passerbys, to which he smiled wider, waved and ran down the hallway to his room. Bursting through the door, he searched for his suitcase. Seeing it hadn't been unpacked from his trip two and a half weeks ago, he upended it and shoved new, slightly cleaner clothing into the depths. He made a side note to remember to do laundry at some point. There were only so many times you could re-wear the same shirt before someone noticed.

Lavi sighed when he thought about how ridiculous he was being. He unpacked the suitcase and repacked it no less than four times, each time adding objects of importance such as his toiletries and clean note books for fresh notes. Pens were found and added and clothing was folded after being rigorously checked over and made to match other parts of his wardrobe. He could wash them later, when he got back.

When everything lay flat and he was content with his choices, he chose to enter his bed and sleep on his excitement.

It didn't work.

When Bookman came to wake him for the day, Lavi was sitting on his bed, nose deep in a history book, dark bags under his eyes.

"Did you sleep at all?" Bookman did not sound happy.

"No. I was too jittery. I thought reading would help but not at all. I read four books last night and I'm still not tired."

"Well, it doesn't matter because we are leaving soon whether you have slept or not. Get ready and don't go to sleep!" The old man left the room and left the teen to get his morning started.

Lavi nearly tripped getting out of bed, having not noticed that his blankets had twisted around his legs. He managed to catch himself just in time and extract himself and change into his uniform of a Bookman Apprentice. His breakfast was a lousy cup of coffee, a piece of toast and one egg with some ham he had stolen from someone else, but he was too excited to care and Bookman was rushing him. Lavi followed and before he knew it, they were loaded on a train and riding towards the Centre, the centre of four very different Kingdoms and the greatest feat of peace in history.

Lavi rambled. "I can't wait to get to the Centre. I heard it really is a mesh of the four kingdoms and that everyone actually gets along."

"Yes now shut up." Bookman went back to ignoring the red head.

"But what about the Core, we are sitting in the Core right?"

"Yes."

Lavi grew excited as time passed, every so often dodging missiles from Bookman. He tried to sleep for some of the trip and did succeed for a while, but eventually his excitement woke him again. Bookman would not engage in conversation and no one on the train was in the mood for games, so Lavi returned to trying to contain his excitement.

That plan was foiled when Bookman informed him that they were outside the Centre and to 'find his pass right now or he will be sent all the way back home.'

Bouncing as he pulled out the pass, Lavi watched the train pull into the station. He began to see the Core in the middle of the town. The colossal stadium stood out from all the other shorter buildings surrounding it and quarter of it seemed to be decorated in different fashions.

Hurrying through the barricades and bringing their luggage with them since they were late due to complications on the railroad, they made their way to the Core. When Lavi walked through the arches, he nearly stumbled.

"Whoa…" he said.

Lavi had never seen such declarations of pride. The Kingdom of Wind had draped their quarter of the stadium in silk ribbons that danced in the lightest of breezes. The green fabric had a gradient to white making it seem that the ribbons melted into the sky itself. The Halidom of the Lotus were all donned in their cultural fighting kimonos. Various traditional weapons hung from obis, ropes and sat in sheaths, within easy access of the warrior folks react. The citizens of the Kingdom of the Mountains wore much earthier colours, but were decorated in diamonds, sapphires and rubies. They had all been surprised at the changing colour of skin as they washed off the dirt stains from their bodies. The nobles from the Kingdom of Red were smartly dressed with pressed tuxedos and flowing dresses. Top hats and elaborate up dos were not uncommon on the red quarter. It was obvious that only the rich could come to the Gathering, but that didn't stop the lower class citizens from all the regions that lived close from standing outside the Core. It was harder to follow the conversations and debates that happened on the podium, but they were not bothered Lavi found out. They were just honoured to be so close to such an event.

Lavi had fallen behind Bookman, but easily caught up to the man. The elder led his wayward and distracted apprentice to their seats and sat down, telling Lavi to do the same.

"It was difficult to get these seats. Don't make me lose them."

As the stadium filled, Lavi could appreciate their placement. It was right above a vomitorium, ensuring that no one was directly in-front of them. It had a perfect view of everything. They were right in the middle and Bookman had said to not surrender any area of it. If you surrendered an inch, you would suddenly lose all of it.

Lavi looked down at the podium at the table set in the middle. Four chairs were set up and behind each, about ten feet away; there was a small raised area, designed for the Supports of the royals to stand on and watch the crowd. They had originally been to watch for assassins, but now it was all decoration, an echo of an old tradition.

"So cool!" Lavi wheezed.

"Now shut up and take note. Here come the Kings and Queens," Bookman said as he nailed Lavi in the head with his notebook.

The first in was the King of the Wind Kingdom, King Yeegar. The stunningly tall, well-dressed man with a perfectly manicured beard and a graceful set of robes was not to be taken lightly. The young girl at his side wore an almost inappropriately short skirt. When Lavi thought about it, the length made sense as they were a kingdom of wind users and excessive amounts of layers and fabric would get in the way. The apprentice noticed the little tie at the front of the King's robes and deduced it was for ease of shedding layers, just in case.

The Halidom of the Lotus's Queen, Queen Alma, was a shorter figure, but none the less intimidating. She did not become the leader of the country because she was beautiful. Her smile was as pointed as the sword she donned on her hip. Regular sharpening of both were worked into her schedule. Lavi had only seen it once, when he was curious and stupid. He rubbed his scarred left palm at the memory.

The third Kingdom, those of the mountains, entered and Bookman explained that they were ruled by a set of twins and that they switched off each year, King Tapp and Queen Cashe. This year it was the brunette queen, sweeping in, covered in precious stones that meant nothing to her, but cost a fortune anywhere else. She was a stocky figure, none the less beautiful, showing off her full circle skirt of deep rustic red and beaded sequins that forms the ridges of her home. Her Support walked with an attempted march, but looked ridiculous behind her and her graceful entrance.

The King of the Red Kingdom walked in with his robes hanging off his shoulder and a bottle of whiskey in hand. His red hair was messed up and his mask shading half his face was covered in red lipstick.

He was alone.

"Where is the Red King's support?"

Bookman was silent. "Ah, I see you have not done as much research as you said you have. I will not tell you, but if you can figure out who it is by the time they begin the second meeting, I will consider your studying sufficient for now. I will only give you three guesses and one hint; they are not within the inner circle."

That didn't make much of a difference considering there were only five other people inside the inner circle besides royalty and their Supports.

The royals took their seats, the Supports taking their place around the edge of the platform, backs to their Kings and Queens. The meeting official began as the four of them sat down.

The crowd was silenced immediately.

Nothing happened for a minute, an entire minute of silence, of no movement. Four figures, each dressed in a different colour robe, carried a goblet up the steps to their designated member of royalty. Each monarch took the goblet and raised them to the sky and took a sip, replacing them on the platter held out to them by the servants.

Another minute of silence. No one dared breathe for fear of breaking the peaceful atmosphere.

The King of the Wind Kingdom stood and announced the commencement of the Gathering and then took his seat again. For the following two hours, pleasantries were exchanged, statistics on crops, cattle, the citizens were discussed, plans of the future were brought to light and the captivated audience did not care that these were some incredibly dry topics, they were just watching the leaders of four nations come together and speak on all equal terms.

All the while, Lavi began to search the crowds and the staff of the Core for the Red Kingdom's Support. No one who stood out, no one armed with any sort of weapon that could be called upon to act as security if something were to happen.

Except for that one figure right in the Red Kingdom's crowd situated on the floor, right up against the podium in the middle of the stadium.

Lavi finally clued in.

"Is the Red King's Support…him?" He pointed to a figure at the front of the crowd.

Bookman looked semi-impressed. "No one suspects the fool."


	2. THE SIGHT

**As promised, this is the second chapter.**

 **Next chapter to be released on December 27th.**

 **I do not own DGM. Enjoy.**

~~!~~

 **Chapter 2 – THE SIGHT(ing of a show)**

As the first part of the meeting drew to a close, the stadium emptied and the royalty with their Supports took refuge in a hidden room under the platform. Lavi was told to follow. He entered the guarded room and saw plush cushion lined couches and chairs lining the outer ring of the chamber. A vast table of food was laid out along the far wall. It was ignored in favour of the royalty lying down until the 'real' meeting started. The Supports were left alone.

"Ohhh, my feet…." the girl said as she sat down and removed her shoes.

The Asian teen grunted and made his way to the soba sitting on the table wanting to get his fill as soon as possible.

The ridiculous marcher stood at attention by the door, ignoring the others, or trying to. He couldn't hide the look of disgust at them for not appearing professional at all times.

"Why are you all so deplorable outside public eye?" the marcher asked.

"They cannot see us here and we have always made sure that we, the Supports, are friends," the girl said, smiling and still rubbing her feet. "My King asked me to try these new shoes and I have to report to him they are… really bad…"

"Why would you do that?" the marcher asked, insulted that she would speak back to her King.

"Well, he asked me to test out the design, and I am always honest with my King when it comes to our Wind Riding gear he asks me to test out. Otherwise, the people could get hurt. Oh! My name is Lenalee," she said.

"Kanda," the Asian teen barked from the table.

"Chaoji," the marcher said.

"Who the fuck are you?" Chaoji asked, breaking Lavi from his thoughts in the shadows.

Lavi was going to answer when he realized that Chaoji was not looking at him, but at the doorway where the last support was juggling four balls in one hand seemingly without a care in the world.

There stood a white haired clown, his face hidden behind a white mask with red lips pulled into a smile, the eyes painted closed and the realistic human nose painted red. There was a black tear running down the left side of the mask, leading to a small crack marring the lower left part of the jaw. On his head was a lopsided, twisted, golden crown.

"Ah, right, you've never met him. This is…he usually goes by Crown Clown, but I just call him Crown." Lenalee jumped up from the couch she was sitting on, leaving the shoes behind. She went over to him and kissed both his cheeks. He dropped the balls he was juggling with a heavy thud and held his cheeks.

"Oh stop it. I know you're not actually embarrassed."

Crown sulked and picked up the juggling balls and bowed to her, taking her hand and pressing it to the mouth of the mask.

"Oh you're so funny," she said, curtseying and holding out her hands for a dance. Crown took the position of the female dancer and the two began to waltz with Lenalee providing the music via singing. Lavi noticed that Kanda wasn't doing anything other than watching, as if this were not out of the ordinary.

"What is a stupid clown doing here? Hey! Get out! This room is only for Supports, not for lowly circus scum like you!" Chaoji said, making his way towards the white Support, his hands rising to form fists.

"Hey! I wouldn't do that if I were you," Lenalee said, seeming unconcerned that it looked like the Clown was to be beat up.

"He shouldn't be here. This room is for Kingdom Supports only. He isn't."

Lavi was surprised when Lenalee realized that Chaoji really wanted to fight she backed off, giving them room. Chaoji threw a wide punch that Crown dodged. Chaoji threw a second and Crown dodged that with ease. The white figure began to seemingly continue to dance around the punches thrown at his face and began to retaliate. He would throw his juggling balls at Chaoji's body and it wasn't until then that the melee fighter realized how heavy they really were.

"What the hell? Hold still you joke!" Chaoji yelled from the ground, clutching his shoulder.

Chaoji jumped up and brought his hands up again, attacking the clown. Crown Clown bounced around, collecting his juggling balls and slipping them into his pockets, still avoiding Chaoji's fists.

Chaoji threw one last punch with a yell and punched the wall, leaving a massive dent. "Stay still!"

"Enough!" a voice boomed. Crown Clown spun around, bowed and did not move.

There stood the King of Red. His robes were now straight and his bottle half empty. He looked angry and it seemed to be directed at Crown.

"What is going on here?" he demanded.

Kanda stepped forward, bowing his head. "Well, this idiot provoked the joker. He was defending himself."

Crown did not move.

The King of Red advanced towards Crown and grabbed his neck, hoisting him up with only one hand. "What did I say? Do not cause trouble! Was that not clear?"

Crown shook his shoulders and held his hands up in a surrendering motion. It looked like he was laughing, but Lavi noticed that the King's eye flicked towards the clown's right hand and watched for a second.

He brought the clown down, pulling his face close. "Behave. I will not say it again."

Crown bowed again and stayed that way until his King left. Lenalee seemed to take that as a sign of the next meeting was about to begin. She reached into a bag by the couch and pulled out slightly beaten shoes, sliding them on.

"Oh, that is so much better. A little old, but I'm not sure how much longer I can wear these."

Lavi piped up and said, "Why don't you try just wearing them longer? Breaking them in?"

Lenalee whipped around. "And who are you?"

"Ah, I never introduced myself. My name is Lavi and I'm an apprentice Historian under Bookman." Lavi held out his hand to Lenalee who shook it.

When he turned to Kanda, Kanda frowned deeper and proceeded to ignore both Lavi and his out stretched hand. Shrugging it off, he turned to Chaoji who said nothing as he shook his hand. Lavi noticed the glare from him as well. The handshake was returned by Crown who had stopped bowing, but it was accompanied by a small shock that surprised Lavi.

"You really are a trickster," Lavi said, holding his own hand and spotted the toy in Crown's hand.

Crown said nothing.

Lenalee took the lead and everyone followed her to the next room. In the centre sat another table, a long black table cloth draped down, hiding the underside from view. An enormous spread of food sat in the middle of the table a small distance away from the pen and paper that lay in front of each seat.

Each monarch had already claimed a seat and had just settled in as the Supports took their places on the wall behind their designated ruler.

Crown pranced over to his King and sat in his lap, arching his back and throwing out a laugh. King Marian seemed to growl and shoved Crown off his lap.

"Ah!" Crown yelped in surprise.

The Red King immediately pinned him down with his a boot. A wheeze was heard under the table.

"You are staying there."

"Ah!" Crown yelped again, clearly being stepped on harder.

"You know the rules and you broke them. You get no chances, you know your place." The Red King settled into his seat, enjoying his foot rest.

There was no sound from Crown.

Lavi grew concerned.

"Why does the Red King abuse the clown guy?" Lavi asked, leaning over towards Lenalee, the one he figured most likely to speak.

"Tell me what you think is happening," Lenalee said.

"Well, it's pretty obvious that the Red King is stepping on Crown and not letting him get back up. I'm afraid he might break the guy's ribs if he presses down too much."

"It looks that way, doesn't it? What else?"

"Well, Crown is clearly either insane or used to the abuse."

"Or both," Lenalee said.

"Or both."

"But I know that Crown actually means a lot more to the King than either let on."

"Why do you say?" Lavi was intrigued.

"Just the way they act. The King beats him up all the time, but I remember one incident where someone touched Crown without permission and all hell broke loose. It was an accidental bump on the shoulder and when the King found out…well…it didn't end well for that employee. There is a saying that in the Red Kingdom the bark means nothing to the bite."

"Isn't the saying 'all bark and no bite?'"

"Exactly, it's the opposite in the Red Kingdom."

"Huh…but that doesn't make sense. Why would the Red King beat Crown down only to turn around and do that? How do you know that King Marian actually likes Crown?"

"Because he told me. I was super worried about the King doing all that violent stuff to Crown and he said it was fine," Lenalee said but Lavi interrupted.

"Crown speaks to you?"

"Of course! The King would never intentionally harm Crown apparently and hell be unto thee that touches, let alone harms Crown." Lenalee said.

Lavi was storing all this information away to record later.

"Who is the Crown Clown?" Lavi asked.

"Dunno. He just showed up next to the King one day. No one knows where he really came from."

From there, Lavi just watched the meeting, taking down the topics discussed, who was for what and why.[1]

When all was said and done and the monarchs dismissed their Supports, the Red King rose and dipped down to grab Crown by the back of the neck and hoist him up.

"Get out of my face," he snarled.

Crown nodded, tripping as he left the room. Kanda withdrew silently and Chaoji stormed out once he was dismissed. Lenalee said that she was going to explore the Red District with the spare time they now had.

"I rarely get to see the Red Kingdom since I'm so busy with my King. I also love it there."

Lavi followed her.

Lenalee took the lead, having seen the town before and giving Lavi a tour. She pointed out bakeries, clubs and streets. It was evident that she really did like the district.

"Oh! I need to stop in here. I want some cupcakes and cookies." She ran into the smaller than most bakery and was out before Lavi could decide if he should wait or follow.

"Wow, that was quick."

"I know what I want," she said as she pulled out a cookie and offered it. "Here, try it. They are so good!"

When he bit into the treat, he agreed.

Lenalee smiled. "It's run by a man named Jerry. He comes here only for the Gathering. When it is the off season here, he returns to the Red Kingdom. I don't get his stuff until the Gathering. I don't know what I'm more excited for when it all happens; seeing everyone or the bakery."

"Seeing everyone?"

"Yeah. It might not look like it, but I actually enjoy seeing Kanda and Crown. I wish Marie had come this year instead of that Chaoji guy, but I would rather Marie stay home and get better. He mailed me right before and said he couldn't go because he was struck down by a flu that he wasn't sure he could shake before coming."

"Well, that sucks."

"It really does, but that's okay. I'll see him soon. My king and I are going there in a few weeks to discuss trade again."

Lavi was going to keep questioning her but a white figure brushed past them and walked towards the centre of the street.

"Hey, isn't that…?" Lavi asked.

"Yeah, it's King Marian's support."

Lavi watched as the clown made large gestures to draw attention to himself. Word spread quickly that he was going to put on a show. A crowd of Red citizens gathered, readying themselves for the performance.

"And introducing, the Clown of the crooked crown! The Red Pierrot!" some shouted.

The Clown made a gesturing motion at himself, confused. Bashfully he stepped forward and bowed, tripping over his own feet. He sprung up right in front of a lady, holding a flower. Her husband leaned forward, took the flower and smiled. The Clown fanned himself as he pretended to faint, but remained standing.

"Crown Clown! Crown Clown!" everyone began to chant.

He stopped and listened, tilting his head. He changed the angle before rolling backwards and people began to roll props into the stage area. The clown began to inspect them thoroughly and seemed to be dusting off things, clearly taking his time until people began to chant for him to begin. He ignored them until he came across the round ball as tall as he was. He snapped his fingers.

The crowd began to drum on any surfaces they could find.

Lavi was thrown off by the events happening. Why were they drumming? Why was the clown stalling for time?

"The louder the drumming, the bigger his first act is," Lenalee informed the confused Lavi.

"You know a lot about the Clown and the Red Kingdom's culture."

"I find it so beautiful and captivating," she said as she turned back to the show.

"Why do they call him the red pierrot when he's dressed in white?" Lavi asked.

"Because he is a pierrot from the Red Kingdom, now hush."

Lavi watched, captivated as if he were a small child again. He laughed as the Clown dropped prop after prop on his head, noting that each action was intentional, there were no mistakes in his performance, matching it to the level of energy of the crowd.

This clown was not only an entertainer, but also a manipulator. Interesting. Lavi jotted that piece of information down, thinking it would prove useful.

The illusion was nearly broken when he was juggling and he was hit in the face by a rock. He dropped the pins and the jarring motion seemed to wake everyone from their trance.

"Hey! Who threw that?!" a large man asked.

No one approached the clown, as if scared. Lavi could hear a child begin to cry and the hesitation of the clown. He got up again and stretched, seeming to not notice the dripping blood down the side of his mask and neck. He found the largest group of children who were unnerved by the breaking illusion and somersaulted towards them, stopping at the last minute and cocking his head. He pointed to his cheeks and made an "Ah! Heeeee!" sound and roses appeared from under the top of his mask, covering the wound. He pulled a confetti cannon from somewhere and set it off towards the centre of the open area.

He had re-established the entertainment for the children. The adults were not fooled and most were concerned. They played along with their children, but knew that the main part of the show was over. They began to apologize to the clown as they pulled their children away to get on with their days. The clown acted appalled by these actions, as if they were tearing his heart out. He began to pretend to cry, even going to stand in front of protesting children, but soon relented as parents promised to return for another show when the clown decided to put it on.

When the square was relatively empty, Lavi could see the moment Crown dropped the act. He removed the rose and dabbed at the blood along the top of the mask. The redhead saw Crown sigh and the clown took off faster than Lenalee and Lavi could follow, but the girl did not seem offended.

"He is done his show. He wants to rest. He will be back when he's ready, not to mention the King might be looking for him."

"What about the whack to the face he just took?"

Lenalee frowned. "Yes, I am worried about that…it looked painful, but I'll ask him later."

"Why not go after him?"

"Aren't you a Bookman apprentice? Don't you know about discretion? He doesn't want people following."

"Why?"

"No one touches the Crowned Clown lest the King hear about it."


	3. THE END

**I almost forgot to upload, but my roommate came barreling in and reminded me. He is apparently more excited than me about most of my fics?**

 **Beta'd by Shippo704 and Azurimi.**

 **I do not own D. Gray-man.**

 **~~!~~**

 **Chapter 3 – The End(ing has no meaning)**

Lavi took off after the injured entertainer. He followed the distinctive clothing down alleyways, nearly losing him a few times, but Crown was easy to spot in his completely white outfit. He was also in the only open area in the alleyway, everyone moving out of the way as he passed. Crown was greeted by many people and he waved back.

A few minutes passed quickly and Crown reached what looked like the back door of a building. He jogged up the stairs and Crown knocked on the door. While he waited, he poked at his forehead until there was a click. A short man wearing headphones and large glasses appeared and began to say, "How many times have I told you not to c- Crown! What are you doing here?"

There was a hand motion and the mask was removed from his face. Lavi couldn't see as he was behind the entertainer.

"Ah, jeez that looks like a doozie! Let me get Doctor Reever! Come in, come in." Crown was rushed in.

Lavi got up to follow. He was quickly spotted by the doctor who did not move. Lavi pulled out the badge that granted him access anywhere and the doctor grunted, obviously not pleased that he was being over ridden, but let him through.

"Any word of this reaches the public eye and I can guarantee that most of the Red District will want a hand in harming you."

Lavi got the message.

The historian followed the foot falls of Crown down the hallway and into a room. The door closed, but Lavi did not want to get closer for now. He waited until a doctor opened the door and left it ajar before approaching it.

Lavi opened the door to see a doctor holding a bloody cloth and gently patting the top of Crown's forehead, where the rocks had broken skin. A firm hand had a chin clamped in its clutches. It took a moment for Lavi to register that Crown's mask and crown were lying on the desk next to the doctor and that the face he was seeing was the hidden visage of the Red King's Support.

"Ah!" Crown flinched.

"Hold still, you know the more you squirm, the harder you make this."

"I know…" Crown tried his best to stay still.

The examination afterwards went a lot smoother with Crown cooperating and the doctor finished washing his face, moving on to looking into Crown's eyes with a small flashlight.

"Alright, it's looking like it was a simple knock to the head, but no concussion and your left eye is working as it should. Just simple cleaning and bandages for a few days and it'll heal right up. Also, until told otherwise, don't drop anything on your head just in case. I mean it, and please be careful."

"Alright. Thanks, Reever."

"Never a problem. Just come back before you head home, alright? I want to check up on it in a few days."

He got a positive nod from his patient before the clown sighed. "He's not going to be happy."

"Yeah, I know, but Cross will have to deal. He can't blow a gasket like last time, remind him of that for me, alright?"

Cross? Who was Cross?

"Yeah, I'll do that." Doctor Reever got up and gently pat the top of Crown's head.

"If you want to take a quick nap here, go for it. Just tell Johnny when you leave alright?"

Crown nodded. "I think I will."

"I'll notify the others to not use the room and I'll send word to Cross. Lights on or off?"

"On, so I can see when I wake up."

Doctor Reever nodded, picked up the mask saying he was going to wash it and walked out of the room, giving a wave. He turned to see Lavi.

"Not a word, understand."

"Yes."

"And I don't care about your badge, you are not to go in there and harass him, nor are you to wake him up. This is my clinic and therefore my rules."

Lavi nodded.

Doctor Reever looked him over and walked away.

Lavi waited a few minutes before he walked in and looked around the room. It was a standard little, private room with all the basic tools of health care, but that wasn't what he was interested in.

The historian looked to the examination table to see the sleeping clown. He was facing Lavi and the teenager took in the sight. The pale face, relaxed in rest, was marred by a red scar covering the entire left side of the clown's face. Lavi observed that it looked like Crown had been in a fire several years ago, judging by the age of the burn. Lavi also made note that Crown did not look all that old, no more than seventeen or eighteen or so. A lot younger than he had guessed him to be.

Crown had removed his gloves and Lavi took in the slim fingers on the right hand, but could not see the left hand as Crown was using it as a pillow.

"You learn something new every day…" Lavi said to himself.

Lavi took this quiet moment waiting for Crown to wake up to organize his thoughts. What he had learned was all neatly filed away and in order to be recorded when he had a proper writing desk and began to come up with questions to ask Crown when he woke up.

The Crown Clown woke up two hours later and Lavi registered the silver eyes peering around the room in temporary confusion. A side note was made about his left eyelid taking half a second longer to open after the blink.

"Afternoon," Lavi said.

Crown nodded, slipping on his gloves before Lavi could see his left hand.

"So, have a good nap?" Lavi asked.

"You know my face." Crown ignored the question.

"Yeah, I'm a Historian after all! I record top secret stuff!" Lavi said proudly.

"You can't tell anyone. If you do, the King will have your organs hanging from the windows." Crown said as he ran a hand through his hair. Completely natural, no roots.

"Isn't the saying 'he will have your head'," Lavi offered.

"My King has a flair for dramatics."

Lavi nodded. That was true enough. "Can I ask some questions?"

Crown sat up. "It's not like you're giving me a choice."

Lavi asked his name.

"Crown Clown." Crown picked up the mask that lay dry and clean by the sink, dropped off by the doctor named Reever while he was still asleep.

"No, what is _your_ name," Lavi prompted.

"That's personal."

"Why?"

"I am Crown Clown."

"Why?"

"Because he is a symbol to the people. Notice how they reacted when someone threw a stone at me? That was a break in the script. They live for their script, they know their cues." Crown looked down at the mask, running a finger over the crack on the bottom left.

"How was he created?"

Crown frowned. "I don't really remember. I was young and felt suffocated."

"Do you know why your King refuses to partake in war?"

"Well, wars are never fought between citizens. They are fought king to king, so why should the common folk be involved?"

Lavi went to ask another question but Crown beat him to it.

"Look, I have to go. My King will have my head if I am away any longer." The mask slid back onto the face, crown snatched from the counter and the clown took off running towards the Core.

Lavi frowned. Most people knew that when questioned by Historians, they were sworn to honestly. He sat there, thinking about it, but figured it wasn't the time so he stood up and brushed himself off, preparing to go back to the hotel room where he hoped that Bookman had grabbed his suitcase he had left behind.

As he was leaving, he was stopped by the doctor who had taken care of Crown.

"Just a warning; stop harassing Crown. The King will hear about it and detain you. We answer your questions but at the end of the day, you are still citizens and can still be punished. Remember that." Doctor Reever walked away.

Lavi sighed. He should probably call it a day, after all, he was tired from running all over town and just the general fact he was running on little sleep.

He made his way back to the room he shared with Bookman and noticed the old man had not returned from his…whatever he was doing. The redhead shrugged, pulled out his suitcase to discover he had somehow managed to overlook packing sleeping clothes and just decided to sleep in his underwear and a spare shirt. There were worse things to forget.

Like setting an alarm to make sure he didn't miss breakfast. Which is what happened.

"What is wrong with me this trip? I'm never this out of it…" Lavi said to himself as he wrestled on his shirt and sprinted down the hallway to see if he could still catch the tail end of the breakfast rush.

He managed to grab some toast and eggs, sitting down and noticed that everyone was still dressed to the nines for the Gathering which reminded him of needing to get back to it.

Making his way to the Core again to find people, Lavi ran through what he had found out during his interviews from people and focus on the questions he desperately wanted answered. They were easy answers, why wouldn't people answer them?

Lavi found the Wind Kingdom's advisor on foreign events talking with Lenalee. Lavi remembered his name was Komui Lee from the report he read before the Gathering.

"Brother!" she said.

"Lenalee, I heard that Crown was assaulted. Is that true?" Komui asked.

"Well, someone threw rocks at him. Lavi said he was alright, but I would still go ask him. He might answer me honestly."

"Please do Lenalee, we are all worried about him." Komui shooed off his sister and she took off to find him.

Lavi took off after Lenalee, curious. Lenalee was heading towards the underground meeting room. It turned out he was right when he entered the room and saw her standing to the side and talking to Crown. The fool was balancing a knife on the nose of his mask.

"You okay, Crown?" Lenalee asked.

"Yeah, fine," he said slowly, most of his concentration on the knife balancing.

"That was a nasty bump."

Crown hummed, hunching to keep the knife on his nose.

That was when Lavi decided to slide in.

"Crown, I still have questions," Lavi said as he approached the white figure.

"Please stop," Crown said, removing the knife from his face and loosely played with the handle.

"But I'm a Historian, I need this-"

Kanda came forward. "You saying you are a Historian is admitting you are a nosy little rodent who does not understand when and where he is welcome." Kanda snapped as he pushed Lavi out the door and slammed it in his face. Lavi could hear the lock catching and Lenalee call Kanda out for being rude.

Lavi stood there, stunned for a moment. He had been kicked out? Why had he been kicked out? Why was everyone being rude? What was going on?

Turning around, he spotted Advisor Lee and Lavi ran after him.

"Can I ask some questions?" Lavi asked him, not bothering with an introduction.

"Of course, concerning?" Advisor Lee asked, looking up from the documents in his arms.

"Crown Clown."

The advisor stopped and took in Lavi's appearance further. "Ah, so you are the Historian, let us move out of prying ears." Komui led the youth into an office and told him to sit.

"Now, what did you want to know."

"What is the Clown's name?"

Komui looked at Lavi and sighed. "I take it you've asked several people and no one has answered."

"Yes."

"There's a reason for that."

"What?"

"Ask that elder Historian you travel with." Komui shooed Lavi away, clearly trying to get rid of him and deal with the growing pile of paperwork created every year during the Gathering.

Lavi began to walk towards the hotel. What was going on? Lavi didn't think that his questions were that invasive.

Hopefully Bookman would answer his questions.

~~!~~

Bookman was furious.

"How did this happen?"

"What?" Lavi asked as he made his way through the door of the room.

Bookman held out a note to Lavi.

 ** _This is a written warning._**

 ** _You have already received a verbal warning on various occasions._**

It was signed by various people Lavi hadn't heard of but knew to be important. Lavi read it again but was still confused. "What is it about?"

"Do you not understand what being a Historian is about?" Bookman asked.

"To record history from all sides," said Lavi as if it were obvious.

"Idiot! What are you doing?"

"Well, I'm investigating some stuff from the Red Kingdom-"

"Please don't say it had anything to do with the clown of the crooked crown…" Bookman interrupted.

"Yeah, why?"

Bookman groaned and ran his hands down his face, smearing his makeup. "That is a topic you _never_ ask about! Each of the Kingdoms has one. Orange does not talk about the mines and their locations, Wind will not discuss their wind riding technique, Lotus is just an angry nation in general and Red does not talk about the clown or the royal family."

"How was I supposed to know if you don't tell me."

"Boy, if you had an ounce of common sense, you would have stopped when you were told the first few times! Now you are compromising our position and privileges here!"

"Don't we overrule normal rules?" Lavi was getting confused again.

"Everywhere else, yes, but this is the Gathering. The Gathering is a bold political move in and of itself. You know the history, right?"

"Of course, it was established fifty years ago as a peace action from the Red Kingdom and each kingdom sacrificed a small piece of land to create the Centre. The area is outside most laws but even then they are even stricter about laws here, which makes the Centre harder to get by in."

"And because of that, Historians have a very tentative standing here, because we are so close to the royals. I have explained to you that Supports to the royal families are outside our standing. They can tell us to stand down and we must listen. I understand that you spoke with a particular doctor and he has very close ties to politicians. You have stepped on far too many toes in a single day and then the Lotus Support throwing you out of the chamber today…"

Lavi could tell he might have screwed up a little more than usual.

The rest of the week passed without incident. Lavi had been removed from the main events and Bookman had told him to stay put.

"If I bring you next year, do you promise to listen and do proper research?"

Lavi nodded. He had learned his lesson.


	4. DO YOU SEE

**This was supposed to be posted yesterday, but I ended up falling asleep as soon as I got home.**

 **Also, this was the original end to the story, but with comments and conversations I've been having, there will be MINIMUM, three or four more chapters. They are no longer on a set update schedule as I have not finished writing them and I need to get them beta'd. I will try to continue with my every two weeks.**

 **Next chapter: Hopefully, January 24th.**

 **~~!~~**

 **Chapter 4 - Do you see (what I mean)**

Lavi and Bookman boarded the train mid-afternoon on the sixth and final day of the Gathering in silence. They had hardly spoken since Bookman had nearly ripped a new hole in Lavi's body, but the old man had promised to go more into depth about why that was at a later date when they were not in the Centre. And when he had had time to calm down and collect his thoughts.

"Lavi, you nearly disgraced me," Bookman said, catching the attention of his apprentice.

"I'm sorry."

"You need to do more research on the Gatherings when we get back. Another Gathering like this one and you will not be allowed back, ever."

Lavi could only nod. The entire ride back to the Bookman Headquarters was silent and awkward for Lavi. Okay, so maybe he should have paid more attention to the rules he had read, but he had been certain that most of the rules had been over written, like most in town.

"Gramps, I'm still not sure what happened."

Bookman took a long drag from his pipe. "The Gathering, the most successful military feat and peace offering. It was established by the current Red King's grandfather and maintained by all four nations. If even one was not in agreement to the yearly festival and political talk, they would disband it. They all still feel strongly about it, but there are catches. They do not publicly speak about the mines, the winds, the fighting techniques or the culture of the Reds.

"Can you tell me why each has their secrets?" Lavi pushed.

Book glared at Lavi. "Everyone has secrets."

"What do you know of them? There's no way you don't know."

"Will you promise to stop being infuriating?" Bookman growled.

Lavi nodded. He was thirsty for knowledge and would swear anything to get it.

"As I said, the Kingdom of Orange does not speak of the locations of their mines as they have sacred duties and ceremonies associated with the mining. They feast and party for seven days before they excavate for a month straight. They do all this on sacred ground, ground that those uninvited are not allowed to tread." Bookman walked around the office.

"How do you know this?"

"By biding my time and asking for nothing, by being humble. I was invited to the ceremony once, about thirty years ago. I was not allowed within the mines as I am not a miner and only the royal family, their supports and the miners are allowed, but the miners told me that it is unlike anything they have ever seen. The mines are incredibly dangerous, but they don't care. While they mine, they say it's like working within the heavens themselves."

"That sounds amazing."

"And the Wind Riders, they must be a certain weight within twenty pounds, but they also must pray to specific spirits who control the wind."

"That is incredibly restrictive."

"It's also for their own safety. It doesn't mean that if you are outside those limits you can't ride the wind, you just have to keep in mind it won't be as easy. If you are too light, you have to weigh yourself down a little and if you are too heavy, it's going to be more along the lines of wind gliding."

"And the Halidom of the Lotus? What is their deal?"

"You have to prove your worth in some way if you are not born a Lotus citizen. They are an incredibly proud nation. Just look at the Royal Support, Kanda Yuu. He is a perfect representation of their culture. He is a strong fighter, does not back down if he can still stand, but also, is proud."

"And the Red Kingdom? The Royal family? What do you know of them?" Lavi asked.

Bookman was silent, thinking, contemplating. "There isn't much I know. King Marian had a wife, named Maria who died about eleven years ago. That was when the King announced his son's existence. I always found that suspicious. If the King had an heir, wouldn't that have been announced at his birth or even near the conception?"

"Yeah, that does sound suspicious. Just who is his son?"

"A firecracker of a young lad. He would be a young man now, about seventeen or so."

"You don't know?"

"I've only met him face to face once before. He was a small creature, he hid behind the King the entire time I was there and the times I visited after, he was always away or ill. He took ill about six months after his mother's death. Apparently her death has weakened him considerably and they are saying that he might have contracted what she had."

"He's been ill for the last twelve years?"

"Yes. Another thing I find suspicious, but it's not my place to delve anymore into the secrets of the Royal family. They are hurting no one."

Lavi was slightly put off by the limited knowledge he had been given, but then what kind of Bookman Apprentice would he be if he was always handed information on a plate. He could work with this since now he had somewhere to start.

Lavi went to walk out of the office, but Bookman stopped him.

"You are not going anywhere, we still have to discuss your next research project. If you would wait for just a moment." Bookman walked over to his desk and shuffled around some paper.

Sighing, Lavi listened and took a seat in a cushy black seat against the wall and picked up a random book to entertain him while Bookman sorted out the paper and searched for what he was looking for. Silence dominated the small office, and Lavi thought he should do something about it.

"I am sorry. I got over confident."

"I am not the one you need to apologize to."

Bookman and Lavi could hear heavy footsteps coming down the hallway, but thought nothing of it. Bookman went to tell whoever it was to quiet down, but as he opened the door, he instantly recognized the insignia on the breast of the individual and dropped to his knees.

"My prince, what do we owe this pleasure?" Bookman asked the Prince of the Red Kingdom..

The Prince, looked down at him and held out a hand. "Rise, Bookman, you are not to bow to me. You are aware of this."

Bookman took the Prince's hand and rose to shake it. "I will always bow to you, my prince. I thank you for the donation into our arts program. No one else would donate."

"You know more than anyone my love of the arts, Bookman. I could not ever bare to watch them fade away." The prince sounded happy.

"Thank you." Bookman pat the Prince's hand and shook it again.

That was when the prince turned his attention to Lavi and his mood changed to one of anger. Lavi had dropped his gaze as soon as the prince had walked in, but not before noting the short, red hair, similar shade to that of the Red King's, though a little darker. The black jacket hugged the figure of the prince as he walked briskly and the red collar shirt with the top two buttons undone were paired with dark pants and Lavi stared at the boots the prince wore. He could see the hidden heel which hinted that the Red Prince was shorter than he let on. Inferiority complex due to height? He clearly had not inherited his father's height, which meant he had his mother's but Lavi thought she was a tall woman too. Was his lacking stature due to the illnesses?

"You must be the apprentice I've heard about. The one with the questions." Click, click, click of the heels alerted Lavi of the prince approaching.

"This is Lavi, my prince. This was his first Gathering."

"I can tell. My father tells me that you were nosey with our jester. I would advise you to stand down." The Red Prince got in Lavi's face, but Lavi wasn't looking.

"Yes…yes, your highness. I apologize, I was out of line and let my curiosity get the better of me." Lavi bowed to the Prince.

"Don't let it happen again, or you will never be allowed near the Gathering ever again. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, I apologize, my prince."

"Good. I must take leave as I have further business to attend to here, but I will be watching. If I hear you are being an invasive little parasite, I will not hesitate to ask for your removal from the Bookman Clan."

Lavi looked up when the Red Prince said that, not knowing if he could or not, but as soon as they made eye contact, Lavi froze.

The Prince continued to glare until his guard informed him that his father wanted to see him.

"I will be keeping an eye on you." With a flourish of his coat, he marched out of the room and Lavi couldn't hear him make his way down the hallway, his mind still reeling.

"I would be careful, Lavi. Though he is only a Prince, he is one of only two royal children." Bookman cleared his throat. "With there only being two royal children, they both tend to be spoiled by those around them. As the Bookman Clan, we live in the outskirts of the Orange and Wind Kingdoms, which means, stupid apprentice that we have not one, but two sets of Royals to answer to."

Bookman realized that Lavi was not listening.

"Hey! Have you heard a word I said?"

Lavi turned to him and stared.

"The Prince is the Clown."

And suddenly, everything made sense.

The Clown of the Crooked Crown was the Red Prince, Prince Allen.


End file.
